Two groups who benefit from the exact same outcomes. Whether by design or by accident, both thrive when their actions produce the exact same outcomes. How do we stop these groups working in harmony?
In a previous post I define ‘secondary terrorists‘, who are those who thrive not because terrorist acts manage to change the world to help a cause, but on terrorist acts that create more people feeling oppressed from the response to the terrorism. The more in the world who feel oppressed and become motivated, the more recruits these terrorists can attract. The more funding they can attract.
Now consider the rhetoric of some extreme politicians. Those who assist in linking terror to Islam in general, which is exactly what helps these secondary terrorists, because it can only create more feelings of oppression and for every thousand or ten thousand who feel some oppression, there will be some who wish to take arms against that oppression.
Now consider how polls for these same politicians trend when an act of terror actually takes place. The reality is that any politician who manages to have people harbouring fear against the groups the politicians identify for oppression and vilification, will blame that group for the new terrorist act and increase support levels.
These same politicians are more vocal after a terrorist act because they have learned that is when their views attract the most support. This is another way of saying their views will be most popular the more often their are terrorist acts.
Both these politicians and the secondary terrorists thrive in the same circumstances, and in reality both preach ‘fear thy enemy’.
Just imaging if a politician, backed by some vocal extreme press commentators, started saying that every one in the world with the same first name as you was a potential terrorist. Then a terrorist organiser ensured that all who committed acts of terror stated that your name was their name. How oppressed would you begin to feel. How would you react every time anyone heard your name. How long before some people who share your name, or have children or other loved ones with that name became radicalised?
